Rich Chinese want to buy happiness — by emigrating – latimes.com

“In China, there is so much pressure,” said Wang, who recently hired a consulting firm to advise him on his first choice, Australia. He hasn’t been there yet, but he’s been surfing the Internet and likes what he sees: blue skies, open spaces. “I want to live a relaxed, happy life.”

The new Chinese emigres have little in common with earlier waves of unskilled laborers or political exiles. They’re not going abroad for economic opportunity — they’re already wildly successful — or political activism, but for a quality of life that money can’t buy in China.

A recent poll of Chinese with a net worth of more than 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) found that 16% had obtained foreign residency and that an additional 44% were planning to emigrate. Many cite a polluted atmosphere, and not just in the air they breathe: endemic corruption, a shaky political system, tainted products and poor medical care, among other problems.

The exodus of the middle and upper classes is an embarrassment to the government, with possibly serious economic implications because the emigres are taking with them money and skills. In an attempt to prevent capital flight, Chinese laws limit people from taking more than $50,000 a year out of the country, but it is easy enough to get around the restrictions.

In effect, the wealthy emigres are buying their new residencies, in what they hope is the first step toward new passports. Many of the foreign programs involve a substantial investment by the prospective expatriates, either in real estate or businesses. The recently renewed U.S. EB-5 visa, for instance, requires $1 million ($500,000 for poor or rural areas) in businesses that create at least 10 jobs.